Departures of note

Göran Kropp, a Swedish mountaineer, is best remembered for his solo ascent of Mount Everest on 23 May 1996, achieved without bottled oxygen or Sherpa support. What made this feat extraordinary was his journey to the mountain: he cycled 13,000 kilometres from Stockholm to Everest Base Camp, carrying 108 kilograms of gear and food on a specially designed bicycle. After an initial attempt was turned back just 100 metres from the summit due to late-day conditions, he recovered at base camp, helped deliver medicine during the 1996 Everest Disaster, and succeeded on his second attempt three weeks later.

Born in Jönköping, Sweden, in 1966, Kropp began climbing at age six when his father took him up Galdhøpiggen, Scandinavia's highest peak. After military service with the Swedish Parachute Rangers, he pursued major climbs across Asia and South America, including a record ascent of Lenin Peak in 1988 and a solo summit of K2 in 1993. In 1992, while preparing for Cho Oyu, his climbing partner Mats Dahlin was killed by a falling stone; Kropp completed the climb anyway, placing Dahlin's ice axe at the summit facing Everest.

Kropp returned to Everest in 1999 with his girlfriend Renata Chlumska for a cleanup expedition, removing 25 discarded oxygen canisters and summiting together. In 2000, he attempted an unsupported ski to the North Pole with Ola Skinnarmo, but abandoned the trip due to a frostbitten thumb. During that expedition, he shot a polar bear that had been stalking them, leading to a libel suit against a journalist who called him a poacher; Kropp lost and subsequently moved to Seattle.

Kropp also pursued a racing career, competing in Swedish and Nordic Formula Three series and developing a Ferrari F355 GT for endurance racing with von Braun Sports Cars. He died on 30 September 2002, at age 35, from head injuries after a fall on the Air Guitar climbing route at Frenchman Coulee near Vantage, Washington. His climbing partner Erden Eruç, who was belaying him, reported that Kropp died on impact when his protection failed. A tribute carved at the route reads: 'With a thumb up / Kropp on Top! / Göran lives / 1966–2002.'